'My son is home and dry with the woman he loves'

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The happy couple leave St George's Chapel

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By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter

12:01AM BST 10 Apr 2005

The Queen gave a warm, witty and affectionate speech to wedding guests last night in praise of the Prince of Wales and the new Duchess of Cornwall. It will be widely interpreted as giving her full approval to their marriage.

Standing beside the couple's wedding cake at the reception she hosted in Windsor Castle, the Queen told almost 800 guests that she had two important announcements to make: the first was that Hedgehunter had won the Grand National and the second applied to the heir to the throne and his new bride, whom she welcomed to the "winner's enclosure".

One guest said the Queen, who toasted the couple, said: "They have overcome Becher's Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles, They have come through and I'm very proud and wish them well. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves."

Jilly Cooper, the best-selling writer and a friend of the newly weds said: "Everyone was in stitches at the Queen's speech. It was such a lovely affectionate tribute."

Another guest said that Prince Charles had replied with an equally warm and appreciative speech in which he thanked "my darling Camilla who has stood with me through thick and thin - and whose precious optimism and humour have seen me through." The Prince also regretted that the Queen Mother, who died in 2002 aged 101, had not witnessed the wedding.

He specifically thanked "my dear mama" for meeting the bill for the wedding. He also paid tribute to "my sons - they would be annoyed if I called them my children".

The prince raised a cheer when he criticised the media for its coverage of events leading up to the wedding. "Down with the press," he said.

The couple had earlier received public approval for the 33-year, on-off relationship from the Queen when she stood behind them outside St George's Chapel and gave a definite, if hesitant, smile. Prince William and Prince Harry also looked happy and relaxed.